Jack de Rosset, the owner of the Model Railroad Shop passed away last night. Sad news. The shop has been open since 1933. Prayers to his family.
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I used to stop in there while at college in the late 90's. Sorry to hear this.
Just spoke with him a few weeks back. Always spent time chatting, sharing knowledge and stories. Sad news indeed.
Wasn't his the cute, brick cottage-like store structure often included in his early advertisements? I always thought it would be a nice side-trip to stop in. But for the last 40 years the closest I came to Piscataway from Michigan was York, PA..
The saddest part of this sort of news is the most common these days....no one to sustain it for the next few decades.
May he truly be resting in peace now.
I am really sorry to hear that. He was a really nice guy. Rest in peace.
Very sad. These old train stores truly are part of Americana. Many owners are passing away or retiring. I know product availability will ultimately match demand, and I'm as guilty as anyone ordering online, but there's nothing like a little train store on a cold winter weekend.
Really a nice guy who would go out of his way to get any part you would need and spend time with customers with questions no matter how simple or complex.
Jack was a good friend and fellow firefighter. When I stopped in at the store we would always talk about trains and fire apparatus.
i know he survived a serious heart attack a few years ago. I hope this wasn’t the cause of his passing.
Very saddened to hear about Jack. Like all of yoou said, real nice guy. Helped me make the right choices when I was in HO scale, not to mention the store close to where I lived. Rest In Peace.
From the website.
I received this terrible news earlier this evening. As a regular customer of the shop for more than forty years, Jack and I became good friends during that time. He was extremely knowledgeable about the area’s railroads and model railroading in general. An extremely helpful person, he and his associates have always been engaging with their customers. The store’s custom painting and detailing services are second to none.
In addition to railroading, Jack was a motor truck and fire apparatus expert and, since I’m in the transportation business, he and I spent a lot of time discussing motor carriage strategies and economics over the years and his shop also offered a superb selection of truck and other motor vehicle models. Perhaps my favorite part of his store is its unparalleled selection of railroad and transportation books. Many of the titles sitting on my shelves came from The Model Railroad Shop.
At a time when our world can ill afford it, we have lost one of the true good guys. Our loss is Heaven’s gain. God bless you Jack and thanks for everything.
Bob
Here is Jack's obit.
Thoughts and prayers to Jack's family. When I lived in Staten Island, I used to frequent his shop back in my HO and N scale days.
I just found out about this. Kinda rocked me. Long time customer. Jack and his shop got me started in model railroading many, many years ago. As a CNJ modeler ... it was so much fun dealing with him.
Honestly ... the nicest man you could ever meet. A gentleman.
Very sad news.
Although I didn't know of him my heart goes out to his family.
John
